Militarization

The US historically and consistently practices intervention in Latin American countries. IFCLA’s Militarization programming advances awareness of the reality and impacts of US intervention, focusing on the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. IFCLA strives to educate the St. Louis community on the ways that US financial intervention, military training, and corporate exploitation have led to the intentional overthrow of democratically elected governments, reinforced repression, and fueled civil wars which have killed countless civilians in these countries. Through education and action, we seek to build a network of concerned allies who are prepared to engage elected officials and work for policy change in the US to end these devastating interventions.

Honduras

In Honduras, the impact of US intervention is very clearly evident. The US played an instrumental role in the 2009 military coup coup d'état that resulted in the presidency of Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH). Many Hondurans call this presidency “the dictatorship” in recognition of its political atrocities. This dictatorship is reminiscent of other police states in Central American history: state-sponsored repression, political assassinations, arbitrary arrests, torture, suspension of due process, criminalization of peaceful protest, death threats, intimidation, political corruption and a widespread culture of impunity.

Fran Glass stands with Honduran political prisoners at a May 9th, 2018 event at the Schlafly Bottleworks. At the event, human rights observer Karen Spring traced connections between private prison industries within the US and the introduction of maximum-security prisons in Honduras.

You can take the following actions to advocate for justice in Honduras:

Call Senator Claire McCaskill’s office in Washington DC (202) 224-6154: Insist that the Senator schedule a joint meeting with the Cross Border Network and the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America. Together, we will discuss the human rights situation in Honduras and demonstrate the link to the recent cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the arrival of the caravan at the Mexico-US border, which consists primarily of Honduran nationals fleeing the violence of the country.

Participate in an e-action to free Honduran political prisoners: Click here to send a letter to Honduran authorities in order to free Edwin Espinal Robelo, a Honduran activist who was arrested in the protests following the fraudulent 2017 elections.

Financially support the work of Radio Progreso and the Jesuit Reflection, Investigation & Communication Team (ERIC) by donating to SHARE El Salvador. At the top of the page, you can also read the Executive Summary of the January delegation to Honduras, and the Honduras proposal from Radio Progresso and ERIC. ERIC is one of the few independent, professional media outlets in Honduras promoting a culture of peace, justice, human rights and solidarity. The radio is run by 15 staff members, supported by 36 professional journalists, at a time when journalists have come under attack by the Honduran government. Recently, the radio tower was vandalized by military operatives in an effort to silence the voice of the people and funds are urgently needed for its repair.